RadioLAN Inc of San Jose, California has launched RadioLAN/10 and 10Base-RadioLINK, a family of wireless local area networking products. The offerings are based on the company’s proposed 10BaseRadio standard, which it is hoping to get adopted by the IEEE. Currently the IEEE’s 802.11 committee is drafting a standard for wireless local area networks, but is addressing spread spectrum technology, which has a 1Mbps to 2Mbps limit. Aside from greater throughput, the company says that its standard will enable a 10Base-Radio node to communicate to any other node in a peer-to-peer topology, thereby eliminating the need for a wireless hub. RadioLAN/10 is a family of 10Mbps Access Units for wireless and 10Base-T local area networks, which operate at 5.8GHz and are claimed to be compliant with IEEE and industry standards including 802.3, 802.11 personal computer interface and Simple Network Management Protocol. It is available in Parallel Port, AT Bus and PC Card versions, and the company says the units can be connected from 150 feet to 400 feet apart in wireless mode, and can also be connected to a standard 10Base-T network. At the core of RadioLAN/10 is 10BaseRadioLINK, a wireless operating system designed to manage communications between RadioLAN/10 Access Units. According to the firm, RadioLAN/10 combines adaptor, radio transceiver and base station functionality into one unit, which it claims is an industry first. Each Access Unit can act in four modes simultaneously, it says: as a wireless node; as a 10Base-T node; as a bridge or network access point between 10Base-T and wireless nets; and as a relay node for roaming or out-of-range users. RadioLAN/10 Access Units ship with a radio transceiver unit, a Network Interface Card with a wireless and 10Base-T port; 10BaseRadioLINK operating system software, including all necessary drivers and management software; and cables. The AT Access Unit costs $350, with the Parallel Port Access Unit coming in at $425; both are out now in the US. The PC Card Access Unit is $350 and will ship in the US this summer. As for Europe, the firm says it is going through the necessary approval processes and is optimistic that it will cleared soon, as there are very few applications at 5.8GHz.
